Celebrating Victory and Learning from the Left’s Mistakes

At the beginning of this election cycle if someone would have told you that Republicans would have been celebrating a victory over Hillary Clinton you would have passionately agreed and been enthusiastic about the future of our country under Republican leadership. If they would have told you that Republicans would beat Hillary Clinton with Donald Trump as our nominee, there may have been trepidation and an unsure nature to your response.

On November 8th, Americans did it. They surprised the pollsters, the skeptics, all the naysayers, by electing Donald J. Trump to be the 45th President of the United States. It was a victory that not many saw coming and that outraged the mainstream media and the firm believers in the poll numbers. From the start, Trump’s campaign was anything but traditional. Rick Shafton claims that the Trump campaign had no ground game as we traditionally know it. The Trump campaign utilized Facebook and relied on people calling their friends and talking to their neighbors. While some may mark this as a decline in the traditional campaign structure, others may argue that the Trump campaign’s utilization of current technologies and very traditional word of mouth campaigning was indicative of his overall message.

Paul Nehlen exclaims that America’s decision to elect Donald Trump was the manifestation of the goals of any individual who has ever run for political office or lobbied congress on behalf of the American worker. This victory was not just for Trump, it was for every political outsider who has heard the same message Trump- that our country is headed in the wrong direction.

And while the American proletariat class finally has a voice, many are still puzzled as to why the media and the pollsters were so wrong. Rick Shaftan attributes this to two primary factors: pollsters did not expect the African American vote drop the way which it did and the political polarization between the undecided voters’ and the democrat’s nominee. Shaftan argues that the undecided voters weren’t made up of primarily democrats; they were those who felt disenfranchised from the GOP and their Presidential nominee- the Ted Cruz type of voter. In the end, the polarization between these voters and the message of the Democrats in this election cycle was too great, and in the final push this polarization worked to Trump’s benefit.

Regardless of how Trump won the votes, what’s important is how we move forward as a nation and as Republicans. While the #NotMyPresident protesters take to the streets, Republicans are already forming their game plan for the 2018 midterm elections. The biggest question for Republicans is if we can continue to drain the swamp. After Paul Nehlen lost to Paul Ryan in Wisconsin’s Republican primary and Kelli Ward saw defeat by John McCain in Arizona’s primary, the fear of a continuation of the permanent class of political elites and career politicians was penetrating the minds of voters. However, with the election of the ultimate outsider to the highest office in our nation, all hope is not lost. Paul Nehlen doubts that the movement to drain the swamp is over. Nehlen believes that at the heart of this movement is the people and as long as the motivation and dedication to the fight continues in the hearts of Americans, than this movement is far from over and those who are disenfranchised with the establishment GOP will see a victory in draining the swamp in 2018.

At the end of the day, America’s successes and failures are a result of the voters. We all have a civic responsibility to help move this country forward, and as Republicans, our vote is filled with power. As Republican voters, we need to take to the polls in 2018 to ensure that business doesn’t not just continue as usual, that we help our new President-elect truly make America great again.

Dr. Kelli Ward has lived in Arizona since 1999. She is a military wife, the mom of three awesome children (now young adults), a family physician, a business owner, a former AZ State Senator, and she ran for the US Senate in 2016 against John McCain.
Taylor Hubbs is currently a senior at the University of Arizona studying Public Management and Policy. Fluent in sarcasm and a carb enthusiast, Taylor enjoys being the outspoken Republican in her classes full of Liberals.